Ryan Perrings on Getting Past Ryan Perrings

“I knew XS was going to be The Big Thing when we did our nightlife walk-through,” says XS, Tryst and Botero VIP services manager Ryan Perrings. “I’d bring people that worked at other clubs, they’d step back, and their mouths would drop. I was like, ‘OK, we have something special.’”

And XS is special indeed. So much so that the award-winning club’s pearly gates are assailed on all sides by thousands of party-hungry would-be patrons just about every night XS is open for business. “I’ve seen the line go in 30 minutes, and I’ve seen it be a two-hour wait,” Perrings says.

Psst! Want to sail past them? Then look, listen and learn the velvet ropes with one Vegas’ best:

Who are you letting in?

Time vs. Money: “If you don’t want to wait, you basically have to know someone on staff that is willing to walk out and accommodate your entry. That’s how it goes.”

Comp vs. Paid: “We are really hard on comps; you have to be very affiliated with something. Industry [equals] nightclub, strip club, casino, restaurant. And good locals are always taken care of, too.”

Girls vs. Boys: “If I accommodate any girls on a Friday or Saturday, it’s all girls, no guys. Guys are just not an ideal demographic for a guest list. If it’s a personal relationship, I always accommodate them myself.”

What do people do to slip past you?

“People try everything. They sneak in; we’ve caught people faking the stamp. People will climb under the ropes, go through the back, use other people’s IDs. A guy did 50 push-ups [in front of the ropes]. We let him in. Everything you can imagine, they’ll do to get past. Girls are crazy, too. They’re all nuts.”

Wear this (not that)

Guys: “Grab a GQ, emulate it, copy something out of there and you’ll look good. Wear what you’re going to be confident in. Be stylish, but bring your own flair to it. Mix it up, you’re going to get in.”

Girls: “Minimalist, sexy, dressed-down, L.A. style. The over-the-top, bling-y, Jersey Shore-esque look is not a great look. The model look is a great look right now.”

Everyone: “At this point, [clubs] don’t even wanna say, ‘No Ed Hardy.’ People should know by now, but you still see it! No rhinestones, for guys or girls.”

When is it my turn?

“In the course of a night at XS, there are 7,000 people coming in, and all of them have their own issues and reasons why they think they should be getting in. You can’t keep coming at me like, ‘Oh man, I have to get in right now!’ I understand that but so do all these other people.”

Why do some people get in and others don’t?

“If you carry attitude, you’ll get attitude back. Be friendly, be respectful, be courteous; treat people how you want to be treated at your job. These jobs are awesome and can be a great time, but also there’s also a lot of stress.”

How can I get noticed at the velvet ropes?

“Being different in Vegas is a great thing. If you dress like all the tourists, you can’t tell the difference between them and the local girls. Developing an identity is the best thing you can do.”

Suggested Next Read

Doubtful that Wasted Space’s impending closure will receive quite the fanfare that our debuting clubs do, I figure now is as good a time as any to bid farewell to motocross legend Carey Hart’s petite club—sorry, anti-club—at the Hard Rock. That property has been on the tip of every wagging tongue recently, with speculation about both its nightlife program and the dining lineup (quiet talk is of a new Asian restaurant, Yi, possibly coming to the HRH tower).